ECR French Nineteenth-Century Art Network presents:
Imperial Imaginaries: Visions of a Second French Colonial Empire
in partnership with the French Colonial Historical Society
Thurs 21 March 1600 (GMT) / 1700 (CET) / 1200 (EDT) / 0900 (PDT)
In the second half of the nineteenth century, Napoleon III embarked on a massive program of overseas imperialism. Restoring and expanding the territories previously held by his uncle—notably through conquests in Indochina (modern day Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos), Africa, and the South Pacific—this “Second French Colonial Empire” became an enduring source of economic power and civic pride for France. Trade with the colonies meant access to valuable raw materials and new markets for French manufactured goods, as well as to “uncivilized” populations patronizingly believed to be in need of assimilation to the French system of values. Indeed, the possibilities for empire were seen as limitless, extending to remote territories not yet explored or claimed by Western powers, including the Arctic.
This session brings together scholars who explore, in different media and geographical contexts, the ways in which a renewed imperial vision of France was constructed, circulated, experienced, and understood, both at home and on a global stage.
Ivana Dizdar (University of Toronto) - “The Domestic North”
In 1855, the French manufacturer Zuber & Cie produced and distributed a wallpaper that featured, among other scenes, an Arctic landscape: complete with a French flag, a sail ship glides through a glacial sea populated by floating ice, glaciers, northern seabirds, and a pair of polar bears at the chilling water’s edge. Despite its portrayal of other regions—Canada, Bengal, Algeria, and Switzerland—the wallpaper’s only portrayal of humans is in the Arctic scene. That the manufacturer and designers, botanical illustrator Eugène Ehrmann and animal painter Théophile Schuler, chose to interpolate human figures in the wallpaper’s Arctic scene is striking. It counters nineteenth-century conceptions of the Arctic as a vast and empty space, devoid of human life, and instead reflects the fact that European powers like France were invested in seeing the Arctic as an accessible and even inhabitable place. Crucially, the figures are not situated in optimal climatic conditions but are thrust into the harshness and precarity of the extreme north. The scene suggests that France has no limit: nothing, not even the risks associated with freezing temperatures, will hinder its colonial spirit. Given France’s colonial presence elsewhere, why, I ask, do French explorers and the nation’s flag appear not in Canada, Bengal, or Algeria but in the Arctic? I argue that Zuber raises the flag in the Arctic precisely because—not in spite—of its status as unclaimed territory. Taking the wallpaper as a point of departure, I examine what it meant to effectively claim the Arctic in French nineteenth-century material culture, decorative art, and interior design.
Ivana Dizdar is a PhD candidate in art history at the University of Toronto and a visiting researcher at the Musee d’Orsay. Her dissertation examines representations of the Arctic in French nineteenth-century visual culture.
Yasmine Najm (Leipzig University) – “(Re)spatializing the Empire: French Official Publications in the Metropole and French Indochina, 1814–1914”
My research focuses on the history of French imperialism, press, spatiality, and nation-state-building processes in the nineteenth century. My dissertation, titled “(Re)spatializing the Empire: French Official Publications in the Metropole and French Indochina, 1814–1914,” aims to uncover how French elites imagined and (re)constructed the French empire in the post-revolutionary period and places a particular focus on the colonization of Indochina. To trace the processes of (re)spatialization that took place after the fall of Napoleon I in 1814/1815, I explore the French Journaux Officiels, a form of official press that has rarely been studied as a primary source for historical analysis and thus remains understudied. In my dissertation, I bring together historical analysis and insights from digital humanities to assess the spatial semanticscontained in the journals to analyze the nature of the spatial discourse used to promote both the (re)construction of the Empire and the French nation-state in the metropole and French Indochina. I argue that Official Journals were used as a tool of (re)spatialization both in their role of physical record of the state’s actions and decisions but also discursively as a medium to semantically test and (re)define the spatial dimensions of the French nation-state with colonial extensions, the spatial format of France in the nineteenth century.
Yasmine Najm is a doctoral candidate at Leipzig University and a fellow of the Franco-German College Doctoral of the Ecole Normal Supérieur (ENS-PSL). Her research focuses on the (re)spatialization of the French empire and the role of the official press in the nineteenth century, with a particular focus on French Indochina. Before joining Leipzig University, she completed a double-degree master's program in Global Studies at Leipzig University and Global Economic History at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Eve Rosekind (Washington University in St. Louis)—“Building A Modern Empire: Empress Eugénie at the Inauguration of the Suez Canal, 1869”
In November 1869, Empress Eugénie of France arrived at Port Sa’ïd to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal. The modern waterway between the West and the East connected the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the engineering triumph of the Isthmus of Suez. This project, led by French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps, strengthened the political and cultural relationship between France and Egypt. French artists accompanying the Empress portrayed her journey through Egypt and the opening ceremonies, visualizing France’s central role in the canal project and in uniting West and East. By examining these illustrations, this talk demonstrates how the imagery of Eugénie illustrated France’s imperial leadership and political prowess on the global stage. Furthermore, the French public could imagine themselves traveling alongside their Empress, marvelling at their technological innovation and their role in guiding Egypt into the modern era. These images of Eugénie affirmed France’s continued imperial investment in Egypt.
Eve Rosekind is a PhD. Candidate in Art History at Washington University in St. Louis studying late-nineteenth century French art with an interest in Orientalism and Second Empire Paris. She is in the process of writing her dissertation titled “France Producing Egypt: The Material Cultures of Orientalism, 1869–1922.” She holds a BA in Art History from Johns Hopkins University with minors in French Cultural Studies and Museums & Society and an MA in Art History from Williams College. Eve was previously the Curatorial Assistant for European Decorative Arts and Sculpture at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
This is a virtual event held via Zoom, details will be provided upon sign up and a reminder will be sent before the event. For any technical issues, please get in contact via info@ecrfrenchart.com
The ECR Nineteenth-Century French Art Network meets once a month during the academic year virtually via Zoom. It is open to current PhD and research students as well as ECRs who have recently graduated and are making their way in the world of academia/museums/education/arts or heritage. It is global, open to those located anywhere in the world who wish to join. Feel free to join and participate; we hope to create an engaging, diverse, fun and rewarding community.
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